NST March 2020 Merriment

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for a lovely day at work with the kids, for good conversations, for a roundabout totally covered in daisies, for a decision being made about schools, for de-scaling the bath, for dd remembering the new password she set up on her phone after 4 hours of having forgotten it (she has since changed it back to one I know, but shhhh, don't tell her that!), for finding a bar of choc in my school bag.

misstara

Whoops haven't posted for 2 weeks - think my total of NSDs is 10.  Have been incredibly busy with work especially over the last week and I suspect it will only get more hectic.  Grateful for finding toilet roll and paracetamol in the local shop (first time I've seen any in stock anywhere for over a week!), a lovely walk along the beach today with OH and soft food (got a tooth taken out today ).

BadBookkeeper

Evening everyone!  Is it only Wednesday?  What a crazy day! 

Slow cooker stew today using up veg.  Work have asked employees for suggestions to reduce payroll yikes!!  He’s even suggesting older employees think about retiring!  

Picked my ds up from school, he’s 8.  All other kids coming out happy school is closed for 4 weeks, he came out crying.  He’s worried & frightened and tbh I am too.
NSD - still 8/15 spent today on cleaning spray, Mother’s Day and birthday cards.
Exercise - 2.28 miles today.  Fresh air is needed!
Gratitudes - unlimited WiFi (imagine having dial up still)! Alcohol, work trying to work around us all.
Charity - DS was supposed to buy biscuits at school to support a ‘friends of Down syndrome’ support group but they had sold out, they are hoping to restock tomorrow. 

abundant1972

Good evening...

Quick check in here as super sleepy! Thanks f0xh0les for the oat-tips!!! I would never have thought of half of them... I chuckled about the sock one in the bath! 

Today I was grateful for:

1) Reclaiming our sense of humour at work amidst it all
2) Friends and family cheering me up
3) For funny post on FB doing the rounds

Have a good evening folks and chat tomorrow. Oh - today was NSD number 6!!! Whooop! 

abundant1972

Here you go... a bit of light hearted fun.
https://www.facebook.com/81985202121/posts/10158106668882122/?vh=e&d=n

f0xh0les

Day 3 of semi - isolation.  I have contacted the primary school re DS4, they are putting together a learning pack and resources for every kid in the school to work through, I am to wait until after 9 tomorrow, ring them from outside the school, they will do a spy drop and go back in, and I can go and pick it up off the door mat.  That is the best we can do.

I am tempted to dress as a highwayman at all times - I have the tricorn hat, might as well use it.  The neckerchief is no hardship.

For some reason everywhere has sold out of yeast.  Maybe, finally, people will start cooking again.  I will wait with much anticipation for all the photos of first attempts.  My first was used as a frisbee, It made a heck of a bang on impact.

DH went on a rant about preppers.  I outed myself. Explained just how much food we have in the house, and how long we could survive without leaving the house, just as a normal monthly event.   He refuses to believe I am 'one of those'.  There is a huge difference between a prepper, a panic buyer, and a hoarder - he just can't see it.  

I hope the supermarkets sort themselves out by the start of April when I will need to shop again.

Time to start working my way through the rest of the  dvds and imposing a routine on the kids.

mothernerd

Inspiration later.

Sorry to go MIA turtles, I didn't sleep well on Tuesday night, which led to posting at silly o'clock and felt a bit tearful early on. Thought the freezers seemed pricy (mum let one of her partner's sons take her old one which she had intended keeping as back up) and when I decided to go back, they were out of stock. I did order a polytunnel. I'm hoping to buy some veg plants (don't normally as I find them expensive) so we will have some fresh hg stuff soon (and will plant seeds to follow on).

Bought a few things from the community shop (she let me have all 8 sweet potatoes - I asked if it was ok for me to take 5 but no-one else seemed to want them and she said for me to take them rather than throw them away). I went out to catch the infirmary bus (not sure I'm supposed to go in there, it's the last place I want to be but I will need to get more pills) but missed it - I was still half a block away from the stop when came.

I carried on to Wilco's to try to fill some random items on my list. Offer price woodstain - one bonus in this situation is that I'm letting DS3 use my bed/ room for the 12 weeks so I finally get the on-its- last-legs bed out of the front room (I've wanted it as a raised bed for at least five years - my actual raised bed, 8' and 4' planks, is making the bed usable as several slats have given way) and a large tarpaulin to cover it until I can paint it. Inner soles for my boots, tape and putty so DS3 can repair the sink pipe (I've given him instructions on how to keep the washer going), a few garden bits ncluding seed potatoes,onions and garlic, a pack of disposable vinyl gloves, 3 large paste buckets (£1 each, plastic unfortunately but they will be used for plant containers when they are no longer viable buckets and chocolate (brazils for Mothering Sunday and 5 bars of choc with hazelnuts - to be hidden from mum as long as possible, I've already told her I will ration her food if she doesn't stop eating he things I'm bringing in).

Bought another 12 books from Oxfam (planned on 10 but they were £1 each or 3 for £1.99). Was really loaded down by now and had lots of help as I kept getting stuck in doorways. Looked in the CEX window - may go back for a cheap laptop for mum/ e-reader for me - so I can put her a film or old tv series on if there's nothing on tv she wants to watch (also puppies and baby sloths to cheer her up). Finally I called in at the reconditioned washer place and asked about freezers (I had spotted something red that might have been a s m e g at the back of the shop). They've also sold them all but they have added me to their waiting list (any height or colour) and given me their phone number.

Had one hour left before I had to be at mum's (hairdresser had squeezed us in when mum called to cancel) so cancelled 4 of mum's appointments and one of mine - mine they had been instructed that morning to cancel all appointments for the next 4 weeks. Packed my mask, laptop, phone and charger (charged and topped up), the paperwork I'd used to help make phone calls (will have to pack all paperwork), phoned for a taxi and he arrived as I reached the bottom of the stairs. I'd left all the things to go to mum's by the front door (took out the things staying at home) and I asked DS3 to bring me the meal I'd put in the microwave as I was loading the taxi.

Mum's nail girl was packing up as I left (scheduled appointment but she had phoned to see if she was still wanted). Mum had booked again for in 4 weeks, then insisted I'd told her lockdown was for 3 weeks not 3 months (then admitted I'd said something about weeks and months and she'd stopped listening). A neighbour she'd never spoken to before had asked if mum needed any shopping - mum thanked her but said 'her daughter would be arriving soon' (thanks mum, still living in the land of packed shelves even though we have done all this before - mid 70's strikes and then the oil producing nations decided not to let the consumers dictate prices so petrol shortages meant things not getting to shops - no toilet paper and sheets of A4 writing paper were handed out singly at school on request, no bread, lots of things rationed or in short supply).

I ate my meal (some gravy in my bag yuck) which made me feel better - nearly 4 pm and this was my lunch. Hairdresser arrived, mum permed and me squeezed in during the 'wait'. Hairdresser had a friend with a coeliac daughter so I gave her some of my tinned beans and one bag each of wholemeal basmati and green lentils. Gleaned valuable information - nail girl said HB had been stripped, food and toiletries aisles, hairdresser said the panic buyers had left reduced sugar beans and soup untouched and there's lots of fresh stuff (so will try for some of that if I can - hoping potatoes, carrots, celery, cabbage, leeks and onions will keep for several weeks in the shed). The community shop had reduced sugar and salt beans but I've been leaving them for those who don't have the resources I do. Made beans and mash for mum and me - there had been sausages (I cook a whole packet and freeze them in meal sized portions) but when my brother visited mum did not have as much as usual for his dog. The dog kept sitting in front of her looking hopeful, so she gave him my sausages (I think they were the heck ones I bought for festive season). Using the mash has left a useful space in the freezer and I will fill it with oddments from my freezer (DS3 and Beloved won't eat the fish). Will do full audit today - noticed a french stick I garlic buttered at X***. Will use bulky things first (especially if I can keep potatoes in the shed) and fill the spaces with stuff I can get out week by week and make into meals, bulked out with what veg I have.

Will be ordering compost/ bulk bag of soil online - was it you dolly who said the diy store had been mobbed or did I read it on the Prepper thread. Need to contact the doctor's, get more pills, bring my clothes, paperwork, remaining sewing stuff, as much garden stuff as I can (maybe only the most useful/ least bulky items - I have some 1m x 0.5m x 0.5 m heavy duty recycled containers that pack flat) and so many random items including any food DS3 and Beloved won't use. I am now at the bungalow but will go back to shop, pack and issue instructions - need to write out the bin schedule for them.

Mummy of twins is calling this morning. She phoned mum to say she was going shopping and did mum need anything. Mum said no (muuum*!!**) but then thought of a few things (whether they are the things I would have asked for?). She normally visits on Tursday eveningwhilst her DD1 is at Brownies (presumably cancelled and will be at home with all 4 DDs - husband works for Morries and has just gone through the annual round of re-applying and hoping he still has a job at the end of it - he might now be wanted to work al the hours possible. Will just keep doing my best and doing what I can leaving all the official notifications until I am here permanently.

Sorry for this very long and probably boring post. I will probably end up with the fewest NSDs of any of us this month (is there an award for worst thread leader ever?) but I'm adapting to a rapidly evolving situation. Read and learn turtles. I'm quite calm and my sense of humour is ticking away quietly in the background. Need to have a 'money' talk with DS3 and Beloved and also a 'death' talk - I have absolutely no intention of dying but it may motivate them if I point out that DS1 and DS2 might have them out on the streets whilst my corpse is still cooling (Moderators this is not a pessimistic, panic causing post - just being realistic and taking any possible advantage of the situation). Also need to have a 'please don't wreck my house' talk - have already mentioned cleaning up after themselves and don't want to return to rats, mice, cockroaches (proof of atavism - first time I saw one I knew what it was and knew I hated it. Still couldn't kill it, had to trap it and leave it on the back doorstep for OH (then fiance) to deal with (his house and crawled from a piece of furniture his friends had given him.

Will be back later with fun tales of bearding the doctor's receptionist in her den, and 'shopping' or not shopping - grateful to the SMs for their belated thoughtfulness but I will be going early or late and using small shops where possible.

Siebrie

We have made a schedule to get through the day. It's not easy with two adults working from home and two daughters doing their primary school tasks. Husband and I start at 7, breakfast together at 9, all work/school until 10.15, fruit and coffee break, all work/school until 12.15. Lunch together/play outside/stretch until 13.30, work/school until 14.15, biscuit break, work/school until 15.30. Daughters can go play, husband and I need to catch up whatever we didn't get done during the day.

Evenings: walk around the village and household tasks for all 4 of us, no sitting down for anyone until all have finished.

dolly84

We have had tears here.  DD is in bits over the school closure and cancellation of her GCSE's, she has worked so damned hard for 2 years for them it just feels like the rug has been pulled out from under her, lots of her close friends are moving to different places for sixth form too so tomorrow might be the last time she is in school with them, obviously that day would have come soon but with it just being sprung on them.  Then on the way to school we saw a blimming truck full of sheep and I burst into floods of tears and have a thumping headache now, but not as bad as the ones the sheep probably had.  DS went into school this morning to empty his locker and now has all the books he needs here. 

Went to Tesco last night and it really hit home for us, there was hardly anything in there, I chatted with some customers and staff and they said it went totally mental yesterday, this is a list of some things that there wasn't any of - tea, bread and all bread type products, frozen pizza, frozen veg, tinned veg and pulses, flour (haven't seen this for ages now), frozen chips, beer, wine, baby formula, nappies, sanitary towels, bananas, tomatoes fresh or tinned, pasta, rice, milk fresh and UHT.

Went to the greengrocer this morning for apples, oranges, mushrooms and potatoes.  Called into Tesco to see if they had any chickpeas, they didn't so I will be using mushroom in my curry today and rationing my chickpea stash.  I was in the store at 8.30 am and it was packed with the elderly, they are buying stuff by the trolley load, they have the time and the money to do it and are not leaving anything for anyone else.  Why are the people who are supposed to be staying in not staying in, if they don't we are all going to be forced to.

mothernerd

People who should stay in are not staying in beacause they need to prepare. Even those of us who consider ourselves to be organised need time to prepare for a 12 week lockdown. People who need to be at home are at risk from the general population not the other way round, those of us with compromised immune systems have a 1 in 5 chance of dying if we catch it, for some this will be much higher (not telling you off dolly, but you don't know everyone else's situation). For some of us, even when we are at risk, there is no one else to do what is needed. Even if I didn't need to go in lockdown, I'd still be there because I can't expect my mother to do 12 weeks alone - she can't read, it took her six hours to part complete the edges of a jigsaw, uses a magnifying glass to do a large print puzzle/ read the tv guide, Cinema club and normal visitors are out of the question (cleaner not coming for the 2nd/ 3rd week, she's ill, her daughter's pregnant, daughter and s-i-l are working from home and someone needs to take charge of the grandchildren). I have the mental resilience (I can survive anything) and will put together a programme of things for us to do (just been reeling off ideas for a teacher who will be stuck at home with her nearly 4 yo + sister's 4 girls, once a week when she does overnight support for a girl with multiple disabilities) and setting work and marking pupils work in the evening via the internet.

I still need to transport all my clothes, shoes and boots, sewing papers, what food I have at home that DS3 and Beloved will not use and gather anything that could be useful (need my garden tools and toolbox - one of the shed hinges has finally come off).

I couldn't get through to my doctor's. Got through to the pharmacy and they will get my repeat prescription from the surgery but are not taking any new customers for home delivery as one of their drivers is down, so I will need to ask someone to collect it and drop it off here. People have offered to help but I'd rather use them for one offs,rather than overload them.

Be kind and considerate turtles. Remember how resourceful you are. Ignore the selfish, the panic stricken, the 'I'm all right Jacks'.

KINDNESS  EMPATHY LOVE Keep youselves and your loved ones safe.